There are many applications in which it is desirable to measure the average power level of a radio frequency (RF) signal. For example, power measurement and control of RF signals in both the transmitting and receiving chains of modern wireless communications systems, such as cellular telephone networks, may be essential. To efficiently use the available bandwidth, the transmitted signals in these systems may be modulated using complex modulation schemes such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). These complex modulated signals have a time varying crest factor, which is defined as the peak to average power ratio of the signal. Intolerable errors can result if conventional power detectors are used to measure the signal power of the modulated signals.